Cliff Notes – Oscar Isaac brushes off ‘hot Frankenstein’ outcry over Jacob Elordi
- Oscar Isaac emphasises the importance of audience curiosity regarding Jacob Elordi’s portrayal of Frankenstein’s creature, suggesting that differing interpretations can enhance viewer engagement.
- The film, directed by Guillermo del Toro, marks a long-awaited adaptation of Mary Shelley’s gothic tale, with Elordi’s character evolving from a sculpted figure to a Byronic anti-hero.
- David Bradley, a returning collaborator with del Toro, draws parallels between the themes of Frankenstein and Pinocchio, highlighting the emotional depth of the characters involved.
Oscar Isaac brushes off ‘hot Frankenstein’ outcry over Jacob Elordi
Oscar Isaac isn’t concerned by any of the debate that’s been sparked by how Jacob Elordi looks as the creature in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein.
The Oscar winning director has finally filmed his version of Mary Shelley’s gothic tale, after 30 years of hoping to, for Netflix.
But in a world so used to seeing Frankenstein’s monster as a green-skinned, bolt-necked giant thanks to Boris Karloff’s iconic look in the 1930s Universal horror movies, some have been confused by Elordi’s make-up.
The Australian star, 28, initially appears onscreen looking more like an anatomically sculpted marble statue when the creature is first brought to life, clad only in a pair of tiny bandage shorts.
Later on in the film, he grows his dark hair and finds a greatcoat, taking on the appearance of a brooding Byronic anti-hero as he tries to find his place in the world. In either iteration, it’s likely not what fans expected – the BBC’s Nicholas Barber compared Elordi’s ‘hunky’ Frankenstein’s monster to ‘a vegetarian Dracula’ – but some will also appreciate.
At the Frankenstein red carpet on Monday night as part of the BFI London Film Festival, Metro asked Isaac for his reaction to the ‘hot Frankenstein’ conversation so far.
Jacob Elordi takes on the appearance of a brooding Byronic anti-hero (Picture: Netflix/AP)
Director Guillermo del Toro and Oscar Issac as Victor Frankenstein are pictured here on the set of Frankenstein (Picture: Ken Woroner/Netflix)
‘Well, he’s the creature, I’m Frankenstein,’ Isaac first commented, pointing out the (incorrect) shorthand people often use when they mean to refer to the inventor’s creation instead.
When asked to comment further to reactions so far to del Toro’s work based on just one or two images, he added: ‘What people think of the interpretation – well that’s the point of it, right? You get people curious about it and so the idea is that hopefully they come in and their expectations are exceeded.’
In Frankenstein, the Ex Machina and Inside Llewyn Davis actor shares an intense chemistry with Elordi, which powers the film.
‘That’s how it was written, Guillermo really put it all out there in the script and all we had to do was show up and be open and loose – and he’s an incredible actor,’ Isaac said of his co-star and their collaboration.
The adaptation is out on November 7 (Picture: Ken Woroner/Netflix)
A frequent collaborator of del Toro’s in the cast is British actor David Bradley, best known to a generation of fans as Argus Filch in the Harry Potter films and Walder Frey in Game Of Thrones.
He’s previously worked with the acclaimed filmmaker on The Strain, Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia and voiced Geppetto in his 2022 Academy Award-winning version of Pinocchio.
‘Sometimes you work with some directors who say, “Hey we must work together again!” and that’s the last you see or hear of them – but he’s true to his word and you think, well I must have done something right the last time,’ he told Metro of returning for Frankenstein to play the blind man Elordi’s creature bonds with (and borrows his Yorkshire accent from).
Frankenstein’s monster has been described as ‘hunky’ by some fans (Picture: Ken Woroner/Netflix)
He saw a similarity in the stories of Pinocchio and Frankenstein though.
‘It’s someone who wants to play God, creating a human being – and then rejecting it. And in a way that was what Geppetto did with Pinocchio and that’s what Frankenstein does with the creature, so it was nice to play someone on the other side of the fence who accepts him straight away because he can’t see him.’
Bradley, 83, also said it was ‘wonderful’ to have been in two films that were passion projects of del Toro’s and that he had wanted to make for so many years.
‘I’m really honoured because I was a fan since Pan’s Labyrinth, and you always wonder what it would be like to work with directors like him – and, well, at this age it’s a treat!’
Frankenstein will be released in select cinemas on October 17, before streaming exclusively on Netflix from November 7.
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